Limbal ring

A limbal ring is a dark ring around the iris of the eye, where the sclera meets the cornea.[1] It is a dark-colored manifestation of the corneal limbus resulting from optical properties of the region.[2] The appearance and visibility of the limbal ring can be negatively affected by a variety of medical conditions concerning the peripheral cornea.[3] It has been suggested that limbal ring thickness may correlate with health or youthfulness and may contribute to facial attractiveness.[3][4] Some contact lenses are colored to simulate limbal rings.[1]

Not to be confused with Kayser–Fleischer ring.
Prominent limbal ring

Youth, health, and attractiveness

Both health and age are positively correlated with a prominent limbal ring.[5] For instance, a darker limbal ring tends to be found more attractive than the absence of a limbal ring, suggesting that both sexes "use the limbal ring as a probabilistic indicator of reproductive fitness".[5] Furthermore, limbal rings appear to be most noticeable "for individuals relatively free from chronic health issues".[6]

Less visible limbal ring

The limbal ring is thought to contain corneal epithelium stem cells.[7] Diseases involving a limbal stem cell deficiency are associated with blindness, as those with such deficiencies are "unable to maintain a stable corneal surface.".[8] Transplantation of limbal stem cells is a promising therapy for limbal stem cell deficiency.[9]

See also

References
  1. Johnson and Johnson Vision Care Inc. Tinted contact lenses with combined limbal ring and iris patterns. US7246903B2. United States Patent and Trademark Office, July 24, 2007. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&s1=7246903.PN.
  2. Shyu, Betsy P.; Wyatt, Harry J. (2009). "Appearance of the Human Eye: Optical Contributions to the 'Limbal Ring'". Optometry and Vision Science. 86 (9): E1069–77. doi:10.1097/OPX.0b013e3181b4f010. PMID 19648842.
  3. Peshek, Semmaknejad, Hoffman, Foley (2011). "Preliminary evidence that the limbal ring influences facial attractiveness" (PDF). Evolutionary Psychology. 9 (2): 137–146. doi:10.1177/147470491100900201.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  4. Brown M, Sacco DF (2018). "Put a (Limbal) Ring on It: Women Perceive Men's Limbal Rings as a Health Cue in Short-Term Mating Domains". Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 44 (1): 80–91. doi:10.1177/0146167217733072. PMID 28978250.
  5. Peshek, Semmaknejad, Hoffman, Foley (2011). "Preliminary evidence that the limbal ring influences facial attractiveness" (PDF). Evolutionary Psychology. 9 (2): 137–146. doi:10.1177/147470491100900201.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  6. Brown M, Sacco DF (2018). "Put a (Limbal) Ring on It: Women Perceive Men's Limbal Rings as a Health Cue in Short-Term Mating Domains". Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 44 (1): 80–91. doi:10.1177/0146167217733072. PMID 28978250.
  7. Li, De-Quan; Chen, Zhuo; Song, Xiu Jun; de Paiva, Cintia S.; Kim, Hyun-Seung; Pflugfelder, Stephen C. (April 2005). "Partial enrichment of a population of human limbal epithelial cells with putative stem cell properties based on collagen type IV adhesiveness". Experimental Eye Research. 80 (4): 581–590. doi:10.1016/j.exer.2004.11.011. ISSN 0014-4835. PMC 2906384. PMID 15781286.
  8. James, S. Elizabeth; Rowe, Andrea; Ilari, Luca; Daya, Sheraz; Martin, Robin (July 2001). "The Potential for Eye Bank Limbal Rings to Generate Cultured Corneal Epithelial Allografts". Cornea. 20 (5): 488–494. doi:10.1097/00003226-200107000-00010. ISSN 0277-3740. PMID 11413404.
  9. Utheim, O. A.; Pasovic, L.; Raeder, S.; Eidet, J. R.; Fostad, I. G.; Sehic, A.; Roald, B.; Paz, M. F. de la; Lyberg, T.; Dartt, D. A.; Utheim, T. P. (2019-03-12). "Effects of explant size on epithelial outgrowth, thickness, stratification, ultrastructure and phenotype of cultured limbal epithelial cells". PLOS One. 14 (3): e0212524. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1412524U. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0212524. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6413940. PMID 30861002.
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